Improvement in spring bed-bottoms



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. E. WILSEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AND D. FORBES, OF SCOTLAND, GREAT BRITAIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN SPRING BED-BOTTOIVIS. v

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,8414, dated July 3l, 1866.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that we, J. E. WILsEY, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and D. FORBES, of Scotland, Great Britain, have invented new and useful Improvements in Spring Bed-Bottoms and Cots; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making' a part of this specification, in which- Figure l .represents the elevation of the frame; Fig. 2, the ground plan or top view of the same; Fig. 3, the end elevation, and Fig. 4 the cross-slat with spiral springs attached.

As the cords and stays generally enter into the construction of spring bed-bottoms, the consequence is that the springs, instead of bearing the whole weight produced on the bottom, bear it only partially, the cords and the stays bearing the balance of it. Besides that, as the frames between which the springs are fixed are stiffly jointed, the weight, when pressing upon a few springs at a time, is not transferred at all to other springs, and the result is that the upper surface of the bedbottom is always standing on one side more than on the other, and the elasticity of some of the springs wears out sooner than that of others.

The object of our invention, which we call spring bed-bottom and cot combined,77 is to produce a spring bed-bottom so constructed that it would obviate the defects above mentioned, that it could be taken apart for convenience in transportation, and that it could be used as a cot in hospitals, and particularly in military hospitals during the war, or on the frontiers.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will describe its construction and operation.

To the lower side rails, A A, are bolted the end rails, B B, which cross each other and serve to support the upper frame. Pin b, passing through these rails at the crossing, has a nut, b', screwed on its end, and serves for them as a pivot and a tie. To the top of these end rails the upper side rails, C C, are bolted, and at their ends and over them the cross-slats D D are put loosely. Canvas N, covering the upper frame, is seized longitudinally under the side rails, C C, by strips E E and screws or tacks a. a, while crosswise it is folded around the slats D D and sewed together. For the purpose of straightening this canvas lengthwise there are notches d d in the slats D D, into which enter iron pins j' f, that are put into the holes made in the side rails, C C. These pins, in case the canvas slackens, may be shifted nearer to the edge of the frame, and thus tighten the canvas.

The lower frame consists of the side rails, A A, and slats F F. Wooden pins z z, fastened to the side rails, enter the notches h 7L of the slats, and have in them sufficient play crosswise. Spiral springs G G are fastened to the slats F F by staples t k, while to the top of these springs pasteboard circles m m, on which lies the canvas, are attached. This arrangement does not permit the springs to cut the canvas, and affords the slats F F, with springs attached to them, to be taken out of the frame for repair or transportation, while the balance of the frame may be folded, like a folding cot, with its canvas inside.

In order to make this spring bed-bottom to be used as a cot, short legs H H are screwed on to the end rails, B B, or bolted to them. They are turned down when the bottom is used as a cot, folded up when in transportation, and unscrewed and taken away when the bottom has to be placed on a bedstead.

1t will be perceived from the above description that when pressure is exercised on the canvas at any point the end rails, B B, both move simultaneously, transferring this pressure on all the springs equally and preserving always the level of the canvas.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The end railsB B,in combination with upper and lower frames, and the notched cross-slats F F, in combination with spiral springs G G, the whole arranged substantially as above described and specified.

J. E. XVILSEY. D. FORBES. Witnesses:

W. C. DODGE, l?. T. DODGE. 

